Only I Know the War Hero’s Secret Chapter 9

The sight of sunlight settling over his perfectly symmetrical, harmonious features felt utterly unreal.

‘This is a dream, right?’

But no matter how hard she rubbed her eyes, the man sleeping like a figure in a painting, breathing softly, remained right before her.

Good heavens……

“Mm……”

While she sat there in a daze, the man shifted in his sleep.

At the same time, the blanket slowly slid toward the side of the mattress that had collapsed, revealing his well-defined abdomen.

“Gasp!”

Overwhelmed by the sight of his firm, muscular body, Mona panicked and tumbled off the bed.

It was because a scene suddenly flashed through her mind: that well-built body pressed tightly against hers.

She even remembered the moment one of the bed’s legs had snapped beneath the man’s vigorous movements.

“……!”

And that wasn’t all.

The way he had glided toward her through the shadows, almost as if swimming, before wrapping himself around her…… Firm yet cold……

“……!”

Swallowing the moan that was about to escape between her teeth, Mona hurriedly picked up the clothes scattered across the floor and put them on.

Her entire body ached as though she had been beaten, but the shock rushing over her left no time to hesitate.

That was how overwhelming the memories of the previous night were. Every single one was something she couldn’t bear to recall with a clear head.

In fact, they were things she would never have done if she hadn’t been intoxicated by the perfume.

‘Damn it. What on earth have I created……?’

Instead of making a perfume that would help her befriend monsters, she had created one that turned them into beasts ruled by their instincts.

‘Just kill me. Seriously.’

As she hurried toward the exit, she noticed something strange about her reflection in the wall mirror hanging near the mansion’s entrance.

“!?”

Her dyed ash-gray hair was nowhere to be seen. Instead, her hair had turned completely white and was sticking out in every direction.

She had dyed it just yesterday. Why……

In a panic, she roughly tore off a layer of her skirt and draped it over her head.

Without looking back, Mona fled the unfamiliar place.

Then, like a child trying to escape a nightmare, she ran and ran as fast as she could.

 

***

 

For the first time in a long while, Richard had fallen into a deep sleep that felt almost like rest.

It was an overdose of peace, brought to him by a woman whose identity he didn’t even know.

But when he awoke from that blissful slumber, the sheets beneath his fingertips had already grown cold.

His blue eyes, as cold as shards of ice, swept over the empty room, where not even a single piece of clothing had been left behind.

The sweet-smelling creature had vanished without a trace.

……Why had she disappeared?

Throughout the night, the woman had wrapped her arms around his neck, making breathless sounds as she continually urged him on.

Then why?

As though waiting for her to return, he had stubbornly buried his nose in the sheets, where her sweet scent still lingered faintly. Slowly, he rose.

After marking his territory so thoroughly, how could she have disappeared?

A raw anger, the kind only a monster could feel, began to churn violently deep in his stomach.

But it wasn’t merely anger toward the one who had dared to consume him and run away.

It was also mixed with irritation toward himself for carelessly falling asleep, intoxicated by her sweetness.

To lose what belonged to him within his own territory.

A primitive, unrestrained emotion he had never experienced before becoming a half-monster by accident blazed before his eyes.

Amid the unfamiliar storm of emotions, he slowly bent down and picked up the white mask lying on the floor.

“……I have to find her.”

Once he made that decision, the sharp sensation gnawing at his stomach eased somewhat.

At the same time, the noise that had once again begun to churn inside his head gradually subsided.

Right. If he had lost her, all he had to do was catch her again.

 

***

 

“Why hasn’t Mona been coming to the lab lately?”

Jake, a senior researcher who had arrived at work rather late, glanced around the laboratory and made the remark.

“That’s what I’m wondering. She’s been absent without leave for three days now……”

“What does a poor researcher like her think she’s got to rely on, skipping work like this?”

“Maybe because she’s talented? Mona may not be sociable, but she’s good with her hands and knows how to control variables……”

“Hey! She’s been absent without permission for three days, and you’re still making excuses for her? Have you lost your mind?”

“W-well……”

Just then, Benny, a researcher who was well-versed in high-society gossip, shrugged.

“Sure, she may look shabby, but she’s still from a count’s family. I heard the Veloz family has been making quite a bit of money lately.”

Benny brought his thumb and index finger together, forming a circle like a gold coin.

“But why does Mona always look like that, then?”

“What kind of parents would want to support a gloomy daughter who does nothing but study monsters?”

“Looks like she’s stopped coming because she’s getting married.”

“But would any young nobleman actually want to marry such a frumpy girl?”

“Who knows? Maybe some peculiar old man has a thing for her.”

“Well, there are all kinds of tastes in the world.”

With no professors around, the researchers were killing time by gossiping and laughing at Mona when—

Creeeeak—

Speak of the devil. Mona Veloz shuffled into the laboratory, looking utterly exhausted.

The moment Jake saw her haggard face, he immediately flew into a rage.

“Mona, have you lost your mind!? Do you think this research institute is a playground? You can’t just show up whenever you feel like it!”

“……I’m sorry.”

“Do you think saying sorry makes everything okay? Huh!? When are you going to get your act together?”

Jake continued to lecture her without pause.

Mona, who looked so thin and frail that she seemed unable to afford even a bowl of gruel, kept her head bowed. As soon as the scolding finally ended, she walked over to a corner.

While she was picking up the research logs she’d fallen behind on, one of the researchers casually tapped her on the shoulder.

“Given the current situation, you’d better start by collecting all the slime nuclei you’ve missed.”

“……Yes.”

When Mona put down her bag and left the laboratory again, Benny narrowed his eyes and whispered.

“Do you think Mona got dumped while trying to get married?”

“Looks like even an old man wouldn’t settle for Mona.”

“Wahahaha!”

Leaving the boisterous laughter behind, Mona staggered out of the laboratory and headed toward the slime testing room with a vacant expression.

When she opened the door, the damp, musty smell characteristic of the culture medium greeted her.

Perhaps because she hadn’t given them their special treat of moss for the past few days, the largest slime on the central workbench had sunk deep to the bottom of its culture medium, as though sulking.

Looking at the slime, which seemed to be staging a protest, Mona sank to the floor and let out a long sigh.

“What am I supposed to do……?”

Ever since ‘that incident’ three days ago, Mona had been bedridden for three whole days and nights.

Amid terrible muscle pain and a high fever, she had been trapped in one nightmare after another.

Dreams of her head being severed by the sword wielded by the war hero.

Dreams of being swallowed whole by a red-eyed predator.

And even dreams of pitch-black darkness, sliding toward her like a snake before enveloping her.

“Hey. What exactly was that thing I saw that night……?”

Mona muttered like someone who had lost her mind, staring at the slime as it released a stream of bubbles.

At first, she had certainly thought it was a Doppelgänger rather than a human.

But it hadn’t been a monster clumsily imitating a person.

It had a warm body, and its heart had been beating.

‘And it didn’t disappear when morning came…….’

Mona recalled the beautiful face of the man illuminated by the morning sunlight.

In truth, he had seemed much more like a human than a monster.

Her throat kept growing dry, and Mona swallowed.

No way. Could that creature really have been Richard Cronell himself?

And if it had been him…… what would happen?

A half-human, half-demon infected by a monster was something that appeared only in ancient forbidden books.

‘Then I’ve learned the shameful secret of someone far, far above my station…….’

It was a possibility she honestly didn’t want to think about too deeply. Mona vigorously shook her head from side to side and began collecting the slime nuclei.

 

***

 

Even the slightest movement made her muscles ache and her body feel stiff, so the collection work took longer than usual.

‘Sigh.’

With a miserable expression, she carried the slime nucleus samples and slowly headed back to the laboratory. But the corridor of the Monster Research Institute, usually deserted, was unusually noisy.

‘What’s going on?’

All the few internal staff members and researchers had gathered in front of the institute’s announcement board.

Feeling puzzled, Mona approached the crowd. As she read the notice posted on the board, her eyes widened.

[Announcement]

It has been confirmed that Professor Thomas Levett, a tenured professor, was involved in improper activities that violated Academy regulations. He has therefore been suspended from his duties pending an investigation.

‘Suspended out of nowhere?’

Mona’s lips parted slightly.

‘Then who’s going to approve my thesis?’

……What about my early graduation?

As she stood there in a daze, blindsided by the sudden announcement, Jake, who had been closest to Professor Thomas, shouted.

“Why on earth has the professor been suspended?”

The administrative clerk from the Department of Monster Studies, who was usually absent as often as he pleased, answered his question indifferently.

“From what I’ve heard, he was implicated in the crackdown on prohibited substances recently led by Sir Richard Cronell.”

At the sudden mention of ‘Richard Cronell’ at a time like this, Mona felt as though her heart had leaped into her throat.

“A crackdown on prohibited substances?”

“Yes. Apparently, the salon Professor Thomas frequented was one of the main distribution points for illegal tobacco. He’s currently under investigation.”

“I-illegal tobacco……”

Amid the murmuring researchers, Mona anxiously bit down on her lip.

That night, after all, she had encountered ‘that thing’ near the very salon Professor Thomas frequented.

Just then—

“Professor Thomas really did get caught at an unfortunate time.”

Benny, who was well-versed in high-society gossip, approached the announcement board and spoke.

“What do you mean?”

“Rumor has it that the war hero turned the entire Luna District upside down looking for a woman. That’s why all the salons in that area were raided, too.”

……What?

He turned the whole district upside down looking for a woman?